All cats self-groom to keep their coat in great condition and to distribute their scent, but sometimes their grooming behaviour becomes excessive. Cat grooming becomes a problem when it disrupts their normal activity, and they lose hair quicker than it can grow back. Find out why this happens and if there’s anything you can do to stop your cat’s excessive grooming.

What Is Cat Overgrooming?

Cat overgrooming is when your cat obsessively licks, chews or plucks their fur. They will do this to the point where the excessive licking causes problems like hair loss, skin lesions or inflammation. When their general grooming behaviour becomes obsessive like this, they may also start to bite areas of their skin, and their tail.

What Causes Excessive Grooming in Cats?

A cat’s excessive grooming behaviour is often due to stress (psychogenic alopecia) or medical issues. Your cat may be grooming to relieve an itch caused by parasites, like a flea infestation or skin mites, or a food allergy or environmental factors like pollen. There are also bacterial or fungal infections, like ringworm, which cause itchiness and patches of hair loss.

Cat hair loss can be related to underlying health conditions like hyperthyroidism and so they should always be checked by a vet. Another possible cause of overgrooming is feline hyperaesthesia syndrome, also known as ‘rippling skin disease’. This is a behavioural condition that causes skin twitching and pain. This then leads to intense self-grooming and mutilation, often of the hind feet and tail.

Cats will overgroom if they’re in pain. If the pain is internal, such as discomfort in their urinary tract due to feline lower urinary tract disease, they may overgroom their lower belly and around their genitals.

Cats are creatures of habit and when their normal routine or environment changes it can cause an increase in their stress levels. Because of this they may lick themselves more than usual to self-soothe.

The main causes of cat stress include:

• Cats suffering with separation anxiety due to death, divorce, holiday or children moving out.
• Living in a multi-cat household.
• Living in a noisy and busy household.
• Lack of environmental enrichment like toys and climbing perches, and not enough time spent outside.
• Moving to a new home.
• Moving their litter box, bed or food bowls to a different location.
• Rearranging furniture or getting new furniture.
• The arrival of a new family member - human or animal.

What Are the Signs of Overgrooming in Cats?

Cat excessive grooming causes hair loss, but may also cause redness, inflammation and even bite wounds. The most affected places are the belly, legs, inside of the hindlegs, and down the side of their body. Basically, anywhere they can reach with their tongue.

These areas will feel spiky and sharp as the hair shafts have been broken. If they feel smooth, it may be a sign of alopecia, which is a hair loss condition.

Cat excessive grooming and meowing is often a sign of separation anxiety or pain. If the cause is behavioural, you may not see your cat obsessively cleaning but you’ll find clumps of fur laying around the house. Most lick-fests take place when a cat is on its own as this is when they feel most stressed and then lick to self-calm.

Cat licking releases endorphins (feel good neurotransmitters) that makes them feel comforted. Being around their owner can bring comfort and make them feel safe, which is why they won’t feel the need to overgroom if you’re present.

If you do witness your cat obsessively grooming, do not punish it as this can make the problem worse.

Treatment for Excessive Grooming in Cats

If you notice your cat overgrooming, it’s best to get them checked by your vet. They’ll need to carry out some diagnostic testing to rule out medical conditions and find the cause. This could include a skin biopsy, blood test, swabs or skin scrapings. Treating the medical issue will usually resolve the overgrooming, but in some cases this learned behaviour can be hard to stop completely.

If the changes in your cat’s behaviour are due to stress, your vet can offer advice and refer you to a pet behaviour specialist.

Here are some things that you can do to help your cat cope with stressful life changes:

• Consistency: stick to their usual routine and try not to move important things like their litter box and bed. But if you think the location is what’s causing stress, try moving them to a quieter location.
• Elimination: if you know what the cause of the stress is and can remove it, do so immediately.
• Hiding spot: make sure your cat always has a quiet place to rest. Cats often prefer high up hideaways.
• Medication: if you can’t work out the reason why your cat is stressed, or it’s unavoidable like a car journey, your vet may recommend drug therapy. Anti-anxiety medication will relieve the stress while you work on the cause. You can also get diffusers and sprays to help with cat anxiety.
• Play and attention: a little extra attention can go a long way when it comes to relieving stress. Playing also releases endorphins, so make sure they have lots of toys and access to an outdoor space.
• Scent: if your cat is stressed due to an absence of a loved one, give them an unwashed blanket or item of clothing that has their scent on it.
• Slow transitions: if you’re introducing a new pet or person into your family, do so gradually. Allow your cat the chance to get used to their scent before they meet by using clothing, bedding or toys.

A cat’s excessive grooming and scratching habits will take time and patience to treat, so don’t expect to see instant results.

Whatever the cause of your cats overgrooming, treating the problem can take time. Your vet will help you to try to get your cat’s fur back to normal. Reoccurrence is likely, so keep up with parasite preventative treatment and keep your cat’s needs in mind when making life changes.

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Content provided from Vetstream's Vetlexicon Felis - www.vetlexicon.com/treat/felis

Vetlexicon is the world’s largest peer-reviewed online clinical reference source. All our content is written and peer-reviewed by over 1,000 of the world’s leading veterinarians, ensuring relevance, accuracy and quality.